


dead set on a getaway

by EmmyLouWho



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Awkward Flirting, Bickering, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-05 15:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16813825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmyLouWho/pseuds/EmmyLouWho
Summary: “Nick,” Gemma says, smiling like the cat that’s got the cream, “I’d like you to meet your new trainee, Louis.”“Hello,” Louis says, holding his hand out to shake, and raising one eyebrow when Nick takes a bit too long to react.“Hiya,” Nick says, when his brain starts working again. “It’s nice to meet you.”Written for the Tomlinshaw Exchange 2018.





	dead set on a getaway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ithastoworkout](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ithastoworkout/gifts).



> Hello! 
> 
> For ithastoworkout. I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> Thank you to the lovely mods for all their hard work (and amusing emails) in running this exchange! I can't wait to read all the other lovely fics :) 
> 
> Title comes from the song Do You Want Me (Dead?) by All Time Low.

Nick’s running late. 

He swears under his breath when he sees the time on his phone, and ups his walking pace a bit, as if that will help him make the fifteen minute trip in less than three. 

Nick’s normally a pretty punctual person, but this morning the shitty plumbing in his flat had finally given up completely, and he’d had to deal with a flooded bathroom floor, so he’d needed to mop it up before he left for work, but then he couldn’t remember where his flatmate Aimee had put the mop, and so he’d spent ten minutes searching through their whole flat before he finally located the bloody thing, and now he’s running late for work, and what’s worse is he hadn’t even gotten to have a shower, so his hair’s all flat and sad. 

When he finally makes it to the shop, he’s started to sweat, too, from both the brisk walk and the stress of it all. At least the day has to be all uphill from now on, he thinks. There’s no way this Monday could get any worse. 

“You’re late,” Gemma says to him when he walks through the door at 9:11, arching one perfectly-shaped eyebrow at him. “I’ve had to man the counter all by myself and I haven’t been able to have my morning coffee yet.” 

“Sorry, Gem,” Nick says, giving her his best apologetic smile. 

“You will be,” says Gemma, with a wicked smile of her own. “I’ve got a special task for you.” 

Nick pauses, arm frozen in the air where he’d been halfway through pinning on his _Styles Books_ name tag on his shirt. 

“Oh god,” he says. “What is it?” 

The last time Gemma had given Nick a “special task”, he’d spent two whole days painstakingly re-arranging and re-alphabetising the whole store, section by section, only for Gemma to decide that she liked it better the way it was before, and he’d ended up having to move it all back again. He’d had the alphabet song stuck in his head for weeks afterwards. 

Gemma must see the trepidation on Nick’s face, because she laughs. It doesn’t do anything to reassure him. 

“Oh, nothing too bad,” she says. “I think you might rather enjoy this, actually.” 

Nick narrows his eyes at her. 

“We’ve got a new employee starting today,” Gemma explains. “One of Harry’s friends. Louis.” 

“I didn’t know we were hiring,” Nick says. 

“It was a last minute thing,” Gemma says, waving a hand. “Harry found out Louis needed a job, he’d heard me complaining about not having time to do the bookwork, and so he convinced Mum to hire him to work here.” 

“Okay,” Nick says slowly. “And what has this got to do with me?” 

“I’m putting you in charge of training him,” Gemma says, with a twinkle in her eye that’s making Nick nervous. “You can thank me later.” 

“Why would I _thank_ you?” Nick asks. “Gem, I really don’t - ”

“No buts, Nicholas,” Gemma interrupts, clapping him on the shoulder. “You’re going to be the best trainer this shop has ever seen, and that’s final. Now I’m going to go _finally_ grab a coffee. Louis should be here in half an hour to start his shift, you should probably dig out the training manual from out the back and get ready, yeah?” 

She’s out the door of the shop and walking off in the direction of the nearby cafe before Nick can even react. He’s a bit worried, honestly, because Gemma had looked far too pleased with herself, and that usually means she’s planning something that will end up with Nick making a tit of himself. 

The shop is thankfully free of customers at the moment, so Nick lets out a loud sigh, and then heads out the back to try and find the training manual Gemma was talking about. He hasn't got long until this new guy is supposed to show up, and he still has to do all his normal opening tasks before they get the morning rush. 

When he steps out into the small office in the back of the shop, he waves hello to Zayn, who’s sitting at his desk, scrolling through a complicated looking spreadsheet on his computer. 

Zayn had been hired a few months ago to help run their online store, when the family had decided to expand their business to make sure they could stay competitive in the current market. Nick’s still not sure why Zayn would want to spend all day cooped up in an office, when he literally looks like he’s stepped off the pages of a magazine and could definitely be doing something much more glamorous, but he suspects it might have something to do with the way that Zayn gets even more quiet and bashful than usual when Harry’s at the shop. For what it’s worth, Nick’s noticed that Harry has started hanging out here more often since Zayn’s been around, coming by the shop before or after his classes at uni “just to say hi” to everyone. 

Nick digs around in the cupboards for a few minutes, keeping one eye on the camera monitor hanging above him to watch out for any customers entering the shop. Eventually, he finds the training guide sitting underneath a stack of old posters promoting a Jodi Picoult book that had come out in 2014. 

Obviously the manual hasn’t been used in a while, Nick thinks. Or maybe ever, actually, seeing as he doesn’t remember anyone using it to train him when he started working here over six years ago, and the only other person who’s been hired for the shop since then is Zayn. 

He heads back out into the shop, and sets himself up at the front counter, pulling over the stool that they use to sit on when the shop’s not busy. He cracks open the folder, and groans when he sees the first page. If the prolific clip art and cheesy puns littering the document weren’t enough of a clue that a tweenage Harry had been given the task of making this, then the “written by Harry Styles! :)” handwritten in glittery pink gel pen confirms it. 

Nick’s only just pulled out his reading glasses, ready to see how many terrible jokes Harry had managed to sneak in to the manual, when the bell above the door jingles. He looks up and sees Gemma, coffee in one hand, chatting to a guy who’s holding the door open for her. The guy laughs at something that Nick can’t hear, and then he turns around to face the counter, giving Nick a proper look at him, and suddenly Nick can’t breathe. He actually pats his jeans pocket to make sure his inhaler’s there, in case he starts having an asthma attack on account of having a cute boy walk in to his workplace. He thinks that’s a little bit pathetic, but he’s been single so long that he doesn’t even care. 

The boy’s got lovely soft looking hair, all swoopy-like across his forehead, and blue eyes that are shining, even in the harsh lighting of the shop. Nick’s glad he’s already sitting down, because he can't feel his toes anymore. He’s always been a pretty shameless flirt, but he can’t actually remember the last time he had this much of a reaction to seeing a fit stranger. He’s already running through his mental list of chat up lines, trying to think of the best way to start up a conversation, when he sees Gemma start to lead the boy over to where Nick is sitting. His heart skips a beat, and then he gets a proper look at what the boy is wearing, and his heart stops all together. 

“Nick,” Gemma says, smiling like the cat that’s got the cream, “I’d like you to meet your new trainee, Louis.” 

“Hello,” Louis says, holding his hand out to shake, and raising one eyebrow when Nick takes a bit too long to react. 

“Hiya,” Nick says, when his brain starts working again. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Nick’s going to show you the ropes this week,” Gemma explains. “You guys will both be working together on the same shifts, so you should get to know each other quite well by the time you’re done.” 

Nick’s starting to realise exactly why Gemma had been so insistent on him being the one to train Louis. Ever since he’d had one too many cocktails at last year’s work Christmas party, and confessed in explicit detail to Gemma the qualities that his dream man would have, Gemma’s been on a one-woman mission to find Nick a boyfriend. He should have seen this coming from a mile away, Gemma’s about as subtle as a brick through a window. It wouldn’t really be a problem, except for the fact that for once Gemma’s picked his type to a tee, and Nick’s actually quite attracted to Louis. And now he’s got to spend every working hour with him for the next week, being his boss and teaching him how to work in a bookshop. He can’t decide if this is going to be the best week of his life, or the most painful. 

Louis looks him up and down. “Are you sure Harry can't train me?” he asks Gemma. 

Definitely the worst, then. 

Gemma just laughs. “Play nice, Louis. Have fun you two!” she says, and leaves them to it. 

“Right,” says Nick. He feels like there’s a rock in his stomach. He’s barely even spoken two words to Louis, but apparently he’s already been judged and been found wanting. 

“I guess I’ll show you around the place for a bit, first, and then we can get into the technical stuff,” Nick says, and Louis just nods, arms crossed against his chest. 

He takes Louis on a tour of the shop, showing him how they have the books split up into sections by genre, where they are then organised alphabetically by the author’s last name. Louis is quiet the whole time, just nodding periodically to acknowledge what Nick is saying. It’s like he’s a whole different person from the happy, chatty guy that walked in the door not fifteen minutes ago. Nick’s trying very hard not to take it personally, but it’s a losing battle. 

Louis does perk up when Nick takes him out into the back office, greeting Zayn enthusiastically and giving him a big hug. 

“Do you two know each other, then?” he asks, even though it’s obvious that they must. 

“Lou and I go to the same uni,” Zayn says, ruffling Louis’ hair and making him yelp, hands immediately going to his fringe. “We’re good mates.” 

Louis preens at that, grinning at Zayn. 

“Well, welcome to the team,” Zayn says. “Nick will teach you everything you need to know, I’m sure.” 

Louis hums, giving Zayn an indecipherable look. “We’ll see.”

It doesn’t really get any better from there. Louis interrupts constantly when Nick is trying to teach him how to use the computer. He blatantly refuses to answer the phone when it rings, claiming he needs to listen to Nick do it “one more time” before he’s ready to have a go, and Nick’s sure that he’s purposefully pretending not to be able to remember where different sections in the store are just to mess with Nick. 

The morning drags by, and at lunchtime, Nick even goes to talk to Gemma, wanting to know how exactly Louis had managed to get hired when he was seemingly so hopeless at the job. 

“Louis’ great!” Gemma had said. “He’s such a nice guy, and so polite, too!” 

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?” Nick asks. “Look, I know he’s a friend of Harry’s, but - ”

“You just need to give him a chance, Nick. I know you don’t like change, but - ”

“That’s got nothing to do with it!” Nick says, but Gemma silences him with a look. 

“I’ve never met anybody who didn’t like Louis,” Gemma says. “Trust me, he’s fantastic, and he’s perfect for the job. Plus, he’s really cute, don’t you think?” She flutters her eyelashes dramatically at him for emphasis. 

“You’re ridiculous,” Nick says. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And even if he was - ” 

“Ha!”

“ - he can’t stand me, so that’s never going to happen.” 

“You’re so pessimistic,” Gemma says.

“Nope, just realistic.” 

Gemma sighs. “I can't wait to say I told you so,” she says. “Now leave me alone, so I can get back to this paperwork.” 

Nick looks at her laptop. “Aren’t you just watching cat videos?” he asks. 

Gemma stares at him. “Like I said. Work.” 

***

Nick initially attempts to complete Louis’ training by following the official manual, but his efforts to do so are met with resistance. Louis complains that the book is boring and mostly irrelevant to the actual work that the job involves. Nick privately agrees with him, but he doesn’t want to give Louis the satisfaction of admitting it. 

They continue to slog through the book, Nick doggedly reading the sections out loud to Louis, who spends the time keeping a running tally of all the book-related puns Harry has managed to squeeze in there, and stubbornly refusing to engage in any of the “activities” Nick is supposed to run with him to test his knowledge. 

Their first shift working together on Monday had been spent mostly running through the theory, but from Tuesday onwards Louis is allowed to start interacting with the customers. Anne has made him a “I’m in training! :)” label to attach to his name tag, which is adorable, but Louis scowls every time he sees Nick looking at it. 

“When can I take this off?” he asks on Wednesday. 

“When you’ve finished your training,” Nick says, very patiently if you ask him. “At the end of the week.” 

Louis sighs, and goes back to doodling on the piece of paper in front of him. He’s using Nick’s favourite pen. It had mysteriously gone missing yesterday, and Louis had vehemently denied knowing where it could have gone, only to turn up to work today with it clipped to his shirt. Nick’s ignoring him, trying not to give him a reaction, because he’s realised that Louis seems to have made it his mission to mess with Nick, and to make his life hell just for his own amusement. 

The worst part is, when he’s not trying to ruin Nick’s life, it turns out that Louis is actually just as amazing as everyone keeps saying he is. He’s great with the customers, charming the pants off of them and chatting up a storm as he’s putting their purchases through at the counter. He surprises Nick with his product knowledge, able to give customers thoughtful and personalised recommendations for books, no matter the genre they’re interested in. The fact that Louis is obviously very well-read only serves to deepen Nick’s attraction to him, no matter how much he wants to dislike him. 

Finding all this out just makes it so much worse when Louis is so kind and polite to their customers, and then treats Nick with so much disdain. It’s obvious that he’d rather be working with anybody else - he’d even explicitly asked if Harry could train him, instead - but they’re stuck with each other for now, and Nick can only hope that when Louis has finished his training, he’ll be working different hours to Nick, leaving him to nurse his (teeny-tiny) crush from a distance. 

Nick just has to get through this week. 

***

On Thursday, Louis really hits his stride with the pranks. He’s gotten the hang of using the register, and has familiarised himself with the layout of the store, so Nick supposes that Louis must have more spare time now to think up new and creative ways to annoy him. 

Louis has obviously gotten to work early this morning, and has painstakingly modified Nick’s employee name tag so it reads “DICK.” Of course, Nick doesn’t realise this until Harry stops by the shop in the afternoon to say hello, and laughs his arse off when he sees Nick. Louis must hear the laughter from where he’s been hiding in the children’s section, ostensibly tidying up the shelves, because he suddenly materialises in time to witness Nick’s freak out. 

“I’ve been wearing this all day!” Nick says, outraged, when Harry finally stops cackling long enough to tell him what’s wrong. “What if I’ve offended all the little old ladies that come round the shop on a Tuesday morning?” 

“They probably just think your name is Richard,” Harry suggests, which makes Nick scowl, and both Harry and Louis burst into a fresh round of giggles. 

“Don’t encourage him,” Nick chides, “God knows he doesn’t need it.” 

He definitely doesn’t. Before the end of the day on Thursday, Louis has also managed to change the desktop background of the computer monitor at Nick’s register to a picture of Louis’ face with a love heart drawn crudely around it, as well as convincing a pair of _very_ adorable children to follow him around the store and ask him a string of nonsensical questions. Nick loves kids, so he’d been happy to indulge them for a while, but when the kids started spouting obviously rehearsed lines about “that nice Louis fellow” and how he was “the bestest, awesomest worker ever who definitely doesn’t need a lamp post with a quiff to tell him what to do,” he’d cottoned on to what was happening, and spotted Louis watching him through a gap in the shelves, holding his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. Nick had handed each of the kids a David Walliams colouring page, and told them to go find their grown ups. 

“Go back to work,” he says to Louis. 

Louis scoffs. “You’re not the boss of me,” he says. 

Nick can’t believe this. “I am quite _literally_ the boss of you at the moment,” he explains. “I’m the trainer and you’re the trainee.” 

“Don’t patronise me,” Louis says. “And after tomorrow I won't be a trainee anymore.” 

“And thank god for that,” Nick replies. 

“Right,” Louis says, a little less defiantly now. “I’m going to go unpack those new books now. But not because you told me too!” he insists. “Because _I_ want to do it.” 

“Knock yourself out,” Nick says, and if he watches Louis walk away, like a creep, then there’s nobody there to call him out on it. 

***

Harry comes over to Nick’s flat on Thursday night for dinner, like he does every week. Nick has been looking forward to this all day, wanting to be able to spend some time with his friend without Louis there antagonising him at every turn. He should me making the most of this opportunity to talk about literally anything else, but it’s like his brain won’t cooperate and he just can’t stop talking about Louis. 

“He keeps playing pranks on me!” Nick complains, tipping way too much spinach onto the homemade pizza they’re making for tea. “He’s driving me up the wall!”

“It’s just how he shows affection,” Harry argues, picking up a handful of spinach and putting it back into the bag. “It means he likes you.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Harold,” Nick says, hoping his cheeks aren't getting too red. “We aren't little kids on the playground, he’s not pulling my pigtails and pushing me off the monkey bars.” 

“That’s exactly what he’s doing!” Harry insists. “He’s trying to get your attention, you idiot, but he’s just doing it in the worst way possible.” 

“That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s Louis,” Harry replies, looking fond. “And you’re just as bad, so you can’t talk.” 

“I am not!” Nick yelps. “I’m offended that you even consider me on the same level of ridiculousness as Louis Tomlinson.” 

“Whatever,” says Harry. “You just keep on living in your little fantasy world if you like. I’m going to put the pizza in the oven now, do you want to pick a film?” 

“Bridesmaids?” Nick asks, looking hopeful, and Harry rolls his eyes but nods anyway. 

They get halfway through the film before Nick brings up Louis again. 

“He’s just so _annoying_ ,” Nick says, startling poor Harry, who’d been half asleep on the loveseat. 

“Who is?” 

“Louis, of course,” Nick says. “Who else?” 

“Oh,” Harry says sleepily. “Are we still talking about him?” A slow grin spreads across his face. “Anyone would think that you fancied him, Grim,” he says. “What with how you can't shut up about him, and everything.” 

“Fuck off,” Nick says mildly. He can feel the butterflies in his stomach start to swirl, just from the mention of “fancy” and “Louis” in the same sentence. God, he’s pathetic. 

“Honestly,” Harry says, “Louis is really lovely. He’s such a sweetheart when you get to know him.” 

“Everyone keeps saying that,” Nick moans. 

“Well maybe you should try, then,” Harry says pointedly. 

Nick hums noncommittally, but the thought sticks in his head. Maybe tomorrow he will try and make an effort to get to talk to Louis, _properly_ for once. 

***

Nick walks into the shop on Friday morning with good intentions, and a positive attitude. 

He’s feeling so optimistic that he doesn’t even find it suspicious when Louis turns up bearing a coffee for him. He just thanks Louis graciously when he offers the cup to Nick, noting with surprise that Louis hasn’t even gotten the barista to write anything offensive on the cup. It’s not until he takes a large - very trusting - sip of the drink that he realises that Louis has tipped in a handful of salt packets, making Nick spit it out, dribbling coffee all over the front of his work shirt. 

“Something wrong?” Louis asks, a picture of faux innocence. 

“Not at all,” Nick says. “It’s delicious. Thank you, Louis, for the lovely gesture.” And he walks into the office to try and clean off the worst of the stain, taking several deep cleansing breaths in the process until he doesn’t want to scream anymore. 

He manages to keep his cool, and walks back out into the shop just before it’s time for them to open the shop. Zayn’s outside when he unlocks the doors, just finishing off a cigarette, and he follows Nick back into the shop. 

“Hey, happy birthday, mate,” Zayn says, patting Nick on the shoulder. 

“Thanks,” Nick starts to say, but he’s interrupted by a crash from over at the front counter. He looks over, and Louis’ standing in front of a pile of gift cards that have fallen off the counter and on to the floor. 

“It’s your birthday?” Louis asks, looking stricken. 

“Yep,” Nick confirms. 

“Shit,” Louis says, looking at the pile of cards on the floor and then back up at Nick. “Shit. Nick, I - ”

“Come on,” Nick says. “Let’s get these cleaned up.” 

The three of them get the gift card display set back up in no time, and Zayn goes off into the office with a wave, leaving Nick and Louis alone in the shop. It’s awkward all of a sudden, a weird tension in the air. Nick’s frantically trying to think of something to say, even one of Harry’s bad puns wouldn’t be so bad, if Nick could just remember one. 

“I’m sorry,” Louis says. When Nick looks over at him, he’s surprised by how serious Louis looks.  
“I never would have done that thing with the coffee if I’d known it was your birthday.” 

“But otherwise you would still have done it?” 

“Yeah, I suppose,” Louis says, and Nick puts his hands in his pockets. 

“It’s just, birthdays have always been kind of sacred to me,” Louis explains. “Me mum always made a really big deal out of it - my birthday’s on Christmas Eve, you know, so it’s not always the easiest - and I’ve just always carried that on to everyone else. My family, and my mates, and stuff. Just making a big deal out of birthdays.”

“Are we mates, now?” Nick says, only half joking. 

Louis just smiles. “I wouldn’t have played that joke on you if I’d known it was your birthday,” he repeats. “I’m sorry.” 

“You’re forgiven.” 

“And happy birthday,” Louis says. “I promise I’ll be good for the rest of the day, then, try and make up for this morning.” 

“Ooh,” Nick says. “This will be a treat. Louis Tomlinson behaving himself?” 

“Shut up,” Louis says, rolling his eyes. “You’d be surprised.” 

He’s not wrong. Nick can't believe it, but Louis’ been civil all morning. One might even say he was being _friendly_. It’s such a sudden change that Nick’s not really sure what to do with himself. 

He remembers his chat with Harry the night before, and decides that maybe he should take advantage of this opportunity to try and get to know Louis. Maybe they could end up actually being friends after all. 

“So,” he says, startling Louis, who has been focusing very intently on printing out a new set of price stickers correctly. “What made you want to start working here?” 

“Well,” Louis says. “I’m still in uni, so I’m always broke all the time, and I’ve been wanting to save up some money so I can go home and visit my siblings a bit more often, get them some nice presents, you know?” 

“That’s very sweet of you,” Nick says. “I started working here when I was in uni to earn some extra money, too. Not for anything as noble as that, though, I just wanted to be able to buy drinks on the weekend and the odd pair of flash trainers.” 

That makes Louis laugh, and Nick feels strangely proud. 

“What did you do at uni?” Louis asks. 

“Business,” Nick says, raising his eyebrows dramatically. “Only to please my parents, mind. I passed by the skin of my teeth and then immediately forgot anything I ever learned.” 

“So you don’t want to take over this place one day, then?”

“Nah,” Nick says. “I started working here full time once I graduated, because I love working here, and I love the Styles’, but I’m definitely not cut out to be a business man. What I _really_ want to do - well, it’s silly, but - ”

“No,” Louis says. “What is it?”

“I’ve always dreamed of being a writer,” Nick confesses. He hasn’t actually told many people that. “I’d really like to write some diverse fiction, you know? We’ve come so far, but there still needs to be so much more representation in novels, and I’d really like to be a part of that. Plus, there’s only so many more books I can read about straight couples,” he deadpans, which makes Louis laugh. 

Nick can’t help but notice the way that Louis’ eyes crinkle when he smiles, his whole face lighting up with the force of it. 

“I know, right?” Louis says, and Nick lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “That’s really cool. Maybe you’ll have a book on the shelves here one day. A bestselling queer romance novel!” 

“Well,” Nick says, “That would mean that I would have to actually finish a manuscript.”

“You’ll get there,” Louis says. “Maybe you just need some inspiration.” 

If Nick wasn’t so sure that Louis hated him, he’d almost think that he was flirting. 

“Well, what about you?” Nick asks. “What are you doing at uni?” 

“I’m training to be a teacher,” Louis says, looking strangely shy. “An English teacher.”

“Wow,” Nick says. “You’re brave. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to secondary school again every day.” 

“Ha,” Louis says. “Well, I had some really terrible teachers when I was in secondary school, actually, some people who really shouldn’t have been in the profession at all, they seemed to hate kids so much. But my English teacher was amazing. I’d never really been that good at school, and I wasn't sure that I’d even go to uni or anything after I finished, but she really changed my life. She instilled a love of books into me, and it sounds cheesy, but she believed in me and really gave me the confidence to go after my dreams. So I’d really like to do that for other kids, kids like me.” 

Nick’s speechless. “Louis,” he says. “That’s amazing.” 

Louis looks embarrassed now. “It’s really not.” 

“It is,” Nick insists. “You’ll be an amazing teacher one day, I’m sure of it.” 

“Well,” says Louis. “Anyway.” 

“Hi boys,” Gemma says, walking over to the register. “Getting along, now, I see?” 

Nick opens his mouth, then shuts it again. 

“It’s closing time,” Gemma says, pointing to the clock on the wall. And, oh. Nick hadn’t even realised. He’d been having such a nice time talking to Louis that he’d completely lost track of time, which is a bit embarrassing. 

“Oh,” Nick says. “Right, um - ”

“I’ll get the door,” Louis says. “Why don’t you close down the register?” 

Nick just nods, and watches as Louis efficiently gets the shop all locked up. 

He manages to focus for long enough to count the till, taking all the money and receipts from the day and locking them up in the safe out in the office. He grabs his coat, and follows Louis out of the shop, making sure it’s all locked securely behind them. 

“Oh,” he says, watching as Louis pulls a beanie on over his hair. “I guess we can take this off, now.” He gestures to Louis’ trainee badge hanging on his top. 

“Yeah,” Louis says. “I suppose I’m official now. Will you do the honours, then?” 

Nick nods, and takes a step towards him so he can pick up the badge. It takes him a moment to get his fingers to cooperate, because being so close to Louis is making him nervous, but he manages to get it off, and holds it up triumphantly. 

“Ta da!” he announces. “Louis Tomlinson, you are officially trained.” 

“Thank you,” Louis says solemnly, pressing his hand together and taking a short bow. “I would like to thank the Academy, and also my family, for making this possible.” 

“And your fabulous trainer,” Nick prompts. 

“And my passable trainer,” Louis says. 

“Right,” Nick says. “Well, congrats. I guess I’ll see you later, then?” He shoves his hands in his pockets and starts to head off, but he doesn’t even manage to turn all the way around before there’s a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait!” Louis calls out. “Wait,” he says again, once Nick’s facing him again. 

“What is it?” Nick asks. Had he left the lights on in the shop? 

“Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?” Louis asks, looking nervous. 

“Dinner?” 

“Yes,” Louis says, looking determined, now, like asking the question was the hard part and now he’s committed. “Dinner. Maybe tomorrow night? Or, I know that’s a bit last minute, maybe some time next week if you’re busy? Or - ”

“Yes,” Nick says. “Yes, I’d like to have dinner with you tomorrow.” 

“Great,” Louis says. “Cool.” 

“I though you hated me,” Nick says. “You haven't stopped pestering me all week.” 

Louis groans. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ve been awful, I know, but I can't help it. When I walked in that first day, and saw you there, all _fit_ and tall, and surrounded by _books_ , for god’s sake, it’s like my brain just decided to be as obnoxious as possible so you’d pay attention to me. It wasn’t the best plan in the world, but I’ve never be any good when I have a crush on someone.” 

“You have a crush?” Nick says. “On me?” 

“Yeah,” Louis says, laughing. “I do.” 

“Oh, cool,” Nick says. “Me too. On you, I mean. Wow, I’m going to stop talking now.” 

Louis laughs, and takes a step closer to Nick. “Can I kiss you?” he asks. 

Nick nods, and Louis leans in, brushing his lips gently against Nick’s. 

“I told you so!” someone shouts in Nick’s ear, and he screams and pulls away. 

Gemma’s standing there, looking much too pleased with herself for someone who’s just interrupted a first kiss. 

Louis looks confused, and Nick grabs his hand. 

“I love you, Gemma,” he says, “but if you don't go away right now I will not be held responsible for my actions.” 

Gemma cackles, and reaches up to pat Nick on the head. 

“I’m so proud of you,” she says. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” 

Nick watches as she leaves, making sure she’s actually gone this time. 

“Where were we?” he asks, making Louis groan playfully. “That’s so cheesy, Nick,” he says, before he leans in again, kissing Nick properly this time, with no interruptions. 

Nick leans into it, and he can feel his whole body tingling, right down to his toes, just like the first time he saw Louis. He makes a mental note to send Gemma a “thank you” bouquet of flowers in the morning, but for now, he’s got more important things to focus on. 

Best birthday ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3
> 
> Please let me know what you think :)


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